While many people celebrate the holidays with family, celebrating with friends is also a great way to show appreciation for the other important people in your life. After all, these friends are often there for your toughest of times. As Thanksgiving is right around the corner, a Friendsgiving meal is a great way to say thank you.

The great thing about Friendsgiving is that it doesn’t have to be a big production. It’s your friends, after all. They want to gather for the food, the great conversation and just to be in your presence. It can be a laid-back party with a more relaxed atmosphere than the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with family. There are no rules to it, so everything from the menu to the dress code can be as casual or as extravagant as you want.

If you’re looking for some great Friendsgiving ideas this year, we are here for you. From tips on invites and gift bags to actual friends-giving themes you can try, we have you covered. Here are 25 great ideas (with tips) that will make your guests thankful that they are, in fact, friends with you. Celebrate these special people this year and have fun.

Send Out Invitations

Friendsgiving is a special gathering, so you want your guests to feel important. Create invitations using templates through any graphic design company. Personalize each invitation to include your guests’ names, the date and time of the gathering, and details such as dress code, theme, etc. Print them out and send them in the mail. If you don’t have time to send invitations via mail, send them through text or email to still make them feel special. Invitations are important because they are personal and official and will make your friends excited about Friendsgiving.

Theme Ideas to Try

• Around the World Feast: Each dish represents a different country, turning your Friendsgiving into a global culinary adventure.
• Masquerade Friendsgiving: Encourage guests to come in elegant masks and enjoy a festive, mysterious atmosphere.
• DIY Gratitude Journals: Set up a crafting station where guests can create their gratitude journals as personalized keepsakes.
• Throwback Potluck: Have everyone bring a dish that represents a memorable or favorite childhood food.

Plan Your Menu

Eating is a major part of the Thanksgiving holiday and food should be one of the main points for your Friendsgiving party. If you’re having a theme like Italian food, soul food, desserts and cocktails, Chinese food, etc., have each of your guests bring a dish pertaining to the theme. If you’re looking for some fun themes, have your guests bring a dish of their culture or a dish that starts with the first letter of their name. If you want to have a random menu, plan out everything that will be on the menu for you to make or buy, or send your friends the list and ask that each person sign up for something.

Theme Ideas to Try

• Science Fiction Supper: Transform your Friendsgiving into a futuristic feast with sci-fi-inspired decor and dishes.
• Pajama Party Potluck: Embrace the cozy vibes with a Friendsgiving where everyone wears their favorite pajamas.
• Food Art Gallery: Turn your dishes into edible works of art and set up a gallery-style presentation.
• Garden Harvest Gathering: Decorate with autumnal flowers and veggies for a fresh, garden-themed Friendsgiving.

Decorate Your Home

After you’ve sent out your invitations and planned a menu, it’s time to get down into decorating. Include fall and Thanksgiving-themed decor like pumpkins, fake leaves, fake turkeys, and shades of orange, brown, yellow, and red. Include a tablescape by decorating your dining table with candles, plates, silverware, and a centerpiece. Show off your personality and your home in your decorations. Wreaths, Friendsgiving banners, tablecloths, and themed plates, cups, and napkins will add a special touch to the party.

Theme Ideas to Try

• Dessert-Only Extravaganza: Skip the traditional dinner and focus solely on indulgent desserts from different cultures.
• Potluck Movie Night: Each guest brings a dish inspired by their favorite movie, creating a cinematic culinary experience. As a bonus, have everybody take guesses as to which movies the dishes came from; tally them up and have winners with prizes at the end of the night.
• Game Night Gathering: Combine Friendsgiving with board games, card games, and perhaps a friendly tournament.
• Vintage Thanksgiving: Celebrate with a throwback to a specific era, like the ’70s or ’80s, complete with period-appropriate decor.

Plan Party Festivities

Every good party has fun activities and games. Your house will be the most fun house in your friend group with planned games and party activities. Grab a few card games, board games, or online games to get the competitive energy of the party going and keep your friends entertained. For an even more unique experience, look into a game that you all can play together through your smartphone. With football and basketball season underway, turn on a game for some background entertainment. A Thanksgiving-themed movie is also a great way to keep people entertained. Set the tone for the gathering with some background music as well. Maybe make it a throwback party with themed music from your childhood or high schooldays (especially relevant if your Friendsgiving guests are all lifetime friends from the same era).

Theme Ideas to Try

• Mystery Ingredient Cook-Off: Assign each guest a secret ingredient to incorporate into their dish for a fun and unpredictable meal.
• Outdoor Picnic Feast: Take advantage of the fall weather with a Friendsgiving picnic in a local park.
• Cultural Fusion Fiesta: Mix and match dishes from different cultures for a unique and diverse Friendsgiving spread.
• DIY Tasting Menu: Create a tasting menu with small portions of various dishes for a sophisticated and varied dining experience.

Have Gifts and Treat Bags

Your friends will love you for hosting, but they’ll love you even more for the awesome gifts and treat bags you give them. Personalize small gifts like wine glasses, keychains, mini wine bottles, and more for each of your friends to let them take a piece of the party home with them. Make sure gift bags or gifts are the same so that no one feels left out.

Theme Ideas to Try

• Campfire Cookout: If you have outdoor space, host a Friendsgiving cookout complete with a bonfire and s’mores.
• Wacky Hat Dinner: Encourage guests to wear their quirkiest hats for a lighthearted and amusing Friendsgiving.
• Food Truck Frenzy: Hire a local food truck or have friends prepare food truck-style dishes for a casual and diverse feast.
• Glow-in-the-Dark Friendsgiving: Use glow sticks, neon decor, and black lights to create a vibrant and unconventional atmosphere.

Include a Drink Station

Get the party going with a nice drink station in your home. Your friends will love getting to order wine, cocktails, margaritas, and mocktails. Include a drink menu and have someone be the bartender for the night or let guests serve themselves. Incorporating Thanksgiving-themed drinks is the perfect way to give your guests the best Friendsgiving ever.

Theme Ideas to Try

• DIY Pizza Party: Set up a pizza-making station with various toppings and let guests create their personalized pizzas.
• Pirate’s Bounty Feast: Transform your space into a pirate ship and have a Friendsgiving feast fit for swashbucklers.
• Mad Hatter’s Tea Party: Put a whimsical spin on Friendsgiving with Alice in Wonderland-inspired decor and tea party treats.
• Carnival Celebration: Create a Friendsgiving carnival with games, popcorn, cotton candy, and festive carnival foods.
• Chopped Challenge: Organize a Chopped-style cooking competition where guests are given surprise ingredients to incorporate into their dishes.

Feel free to use one of these themes, or better yet, take it, massage it, and make it your own by putting a unique spin on it. Let us know in the comments how you did it and, of course, how things went. Most of all, have a great Friendsgiving this year.